 |
| "Toby Flenderson is everything that is wrong with the paper industry." -Michael Scott |
His sister, Susanne, is President of Lifetime Entertainment Services, and is married to The Office US Creator and Executive Producer, Greg Daniels. His brother, Warren Lieberstein, was married to Angela Kinsey (Angela Martin on The Office) for ten years, four of those during the time the series was running.
But while you might share Michael Scott's vehement distaste for Toby's monotone character, you might not know that Paul Lieberstein, the writer and director, is responsible for some of the greatest moments in Office history. He wrote what is arguably the very best episode of The Office: Season 5's "Stress Relief". He also wrote and directed "Money" a fan favorite from Season 4. And although his character Toby crushed hard on Pam and resented her relationship with Jim, if you remember that iconic moment when Jim FINALLY asks Pam out on a date, you have writer Paul and Michael Schur (Mose Schrute) to thank for it.
Here is a complete list of Paul's writing and directing credits for The Office: US.
Written episodes of The Office
"Health Care" (April 5, 2005) – Season 1
"The Client" (November 8, 2005) – Season 2
"The Carpet" (January 26, 2006) – Season 2
"Dwight's Speech" (March 2, 2006) – Season 2
"The Coup" (October 5, 2006) – Season 3
"Cocktails" (February 22, 2007) – Season 3
"The Job" along with Michael Schur (May 17, 2007) – Season 3
"Money" (October 18, 2007) – Season 4
"Goodbye, Toby" along with Jennifer Celotta (May 15, 2008) – Season 4
"Stress Relief" (February 1, 2009) – Season 5
"Company Picnic" along with Jennifer Celotta (May 14, 2009) – Season 5
"Gossip" (September 17, 2009) – Season 6
"Sex Ed" (October 14, 2010) – Season 7
"Search Committee" (May 19, 2011) - Season 7
"The Incentive" (September 29, 2011) - Season 8
"The Farm" (March 14, 2013) - Season 9
Directed episodes of The Office
"Money" (October 18, 2007) – Season 4
"Two Weeks" (March 26, 2009) – Season 5
"Gossip" (September 17, 2009) – Season 6
"Whistleblower" (May 20, 2010) – Season 6
"Sex Ed" (October 14, 2010) – Season 7
"Training Day" (April 14, 2011) – Season 7
"The Farm" (March 14, 2013) - Season 9
Before his Office claim to fame, Paul was born in Westport, Connecticut to Judith and Stanley Lieberstein. He attended Hamilton College and graduated in 1989 as an economics major. Paul has said about his first job after college: "I worked as an auditor at Peat Marwick. I didn't last six months. It was like watching my soul drain out." Two days after quitting, he kicked off his writing career by composing a script for Cheers, which never aired. He then did a short stint at his father's law firm, but said he was "actually working as little as I could so I could write. I did 10 scripts in two years."
He eventually landed his first writing gig, as a staff writer for the Nickelodeon sitcom: Clarissa Explains It All, and went on to write for the short lived sitcoms Weird Science and The Naked Truth. His writing star rose as he became a writer and producer for 5 years on the hit animated show: King of the Hill, for which he won his first Emmy award. He went on to write for other notable series' such as The Drew Carey Show and The Bernie Mac Show. But it wasn't until The Office that he added "Actor" to his resume, though he hadn't planned for that.
"I was originally going to do one line in the first episode, but the president of NBC saw my scene and said, "He's funny. Let's use more of him." I had no acting experience — my training came on the show by working with incredibly talented actors like Steve and Rainn Wilson."
Paul, along with the other producers of The Office, won his second Emmy in 2006 for Outstanding Comedy Series.
As The Office came to a close in the 2012-2013 9th season, Paul prepared for the end of the series by shifting gears. He, along with Rainn Wilson and Michael Schur, spearheaded a possible Office Spinoff: The Farm, which would have centered around Dwight Schrute's Beet Farm. The Office episode "The Farm" was written by Paul as a backdoor pilot for the potential series, but unfortunately NBC decided not to go through with the spinoff.
Fast forward to 2014 and Paul has joined Aaron Sorkin as a writer and Executive Producer on the acclaimed HBO series: The Newsroom, staring Jeff Daniels. It's third and final season will premiere this fall.
It may be The Office's longest running joke to despise Toby Flenderson, but we here at The Office-isms have nothing but love for the man behind the scenes, Paul Lieberstein. The Office wouldn't have been the fantastic series it was without him.
Or Toby...I guess.